Speedskater Davis Wins Olympic Gold in Men’s 1000 Meters

According to the ratings, there aren’t that many people watching the Winter Olympics. And with the NBA All-Star week-end just wrapping up, odds are even fewer did in the last couple of days. That’s a shame because a great many missed a fine performance by Shani Davis, who won the men’s 1,000 meter speedskating gold. He is the first black American to win an individual gold at the Winter Games. Yet, this isn’t a Jackie Robinson moment. Mr. Davis’ achievement is a triumph over class, not race.

Given America’s history, race is seen as an important factor even when it isn’t. In order to excel in the Winter Olympics, an athlete must have a few things, and the least of them is talent. One needs access to ice or snow; this tends to favor people in the north and mountains of the west. Moreover, Olympic competition is conspicuous consumption in Thorsten Veblen’s meaning of the term. Being able to train enough to compete is a sign of national, and individual, wealth.

Beginning with access to ice and snow, most of the African-American population still resides in the former Confederacy, the southeastern part of the country. There’s very little snow and ice there. Of late, the NHL has put hockey franchises in places like Atlanta and Miami, but the players don’t usually come from there. When one has to pay for rink time and one must give up spending the day at the beach to do so, most people won’t participate in winter sports, regardless of how talented. Compare that to places like Wisconsin, Minnesota and Maine, where every body of water is an ice rink in winter, where getting to school sometimes requires skis, and the focus is clearly different. That black Americans are proportionately more numerous in the South reduces the number of black Americans on skis and skates from the beginning. Mr. Davis, from Chicago’s south side, merely proves the point. Chicago does get nippy in winter.

Then, there is the matter of time and money. Amateur though they may be in some sports, Olympians train like pros and require the same economic support. Every hour on the ice or snow is an hour one isn’t at WalMart or Home Depot getting paid. The money needed to support an Olympian must come from somewhere, and at first, it comes from the family. Mom and Dad pay for it out of their own pockets. Only after the kid gets going does any endorsement money help. When one considers that the average household net worth for a black American family is $6,000 and for a white American family, it’s $80,000, clearly, it will be harder for a black kid to get the kind of training and support needed.

Unlike Jackie Robinson, Mr. Davis never faced a legal ban from participating at the highest level in his sport. His sport was merely one that was not popular where most black Americans reside (as proof, note how few residents of Florida and Hawaii are on the team). One is reminded of the Jamaica bobsled team from a few years ago; Jamaica doesn't have snow or a bobsled run. That makes it hard to put together a team to race, legal restrictions or not. Mr. Davis’ win merely shows how much more time and money his single mother put into him, how much he worked, and yes, how much talent he had from the beginning. Unlike Jackie Robinson, there wasn't an entire power structure working actively to stop him.

The Danish flag appears here as a protest against the violence being done to the free press of that country and elsewhere by those offended by some cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed, peace be unto him. A perceived insult is not an excuse for intimidation and violence, even in the name of the Creator. One cannot insult God, only small-minded men who falsely claim to speak for Him. © Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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